Growth
by Sweet Ashori
Summary: For Gruvia Week 2017. Prompt 3: Growth. "That outburst made the entire guild go silent, and suddenly Gajeel realized what he said. "Crap," he muttered, "I screwed that up."" Rated T for some minor cursing.


Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. Duh.

Authoress's Note: Another entry for Gruvia Week! You could semi-see this as a sequel to my first entry, Sunrise, but also as its own story. Enjoy!

 **Prompt 3** : Growth

Growth

" _Congratulations, Mrs. Fullbuster! You're pregnant!"_

Juvia Fullbuster still couldn't believe those words, even as she sat on the couch with her hands resting on her currently-flat stomach. It was only eight months ago that she finally got married to the love of her life – the ice-mage Gray – and now a few days ago she found out she was expecting their first child. It was almost too surreal!

"I hope Gray-sama comes home from his mission soon," Juvia remarked, "Juvia is sure he'll be really happy to hear that he's going to be a daddy. At least, she hopes so; she is worried that he may not have wanted to become a dad already."

Juvia could feel her face heat up at the thought of the day that she supposedly had gotten pregnant, placing a hand on her cheek, "But it was a risk to take! It was so hot that day, and we just couldn't resist each other. We spent the entire evening in bed, and Gray-sama really made sure he get ALL of Juvia's good spots... mmm, oh Gray-sama~"

The blunette realized what she was doing and stopped herself, clearing her throat. "Even though you are inside of Juvia's belly, she probably shouldn't be saying such things to you. Babies can hear their parents even inside, or so she had heard," she apologized, rubbing her stomach gently.

She felt it rumble as she did, and she laughed at the sound. "Juvia guesses you're hungry, huh? How about we head to the guild? She's sure that Mira-san will be able to make us up something delicious, and maybe Gray-sama is already there!" she exclaimed, standing up and making her way towards the front door.

* * *

"Hey there, Raindrop. You alright?"

Juvia turned around and smiled, "Hello, Gajeel-kun. Yes, Juvia is doing alright. She wishes Gray-sama would finally come home though."

Gajeel chuckled, sitting down next to Juvia as he continued to bite down on a piece of metal, "Could imagine. Have you figured out how to tell him yet?"

"Not quite yet. She wants to surprise him alone, but not sure how yet."

Juvia smiled at her friend as he shrugged his shoulders. Gajeel was the only one that knew, so far, that Juvia was expecting, although it was by a complete accident. As she was heading home, she was muttering aloud her surprise, something she didn't think anyone could hear, not realizing that Gajeel was walking by. He stopped her once he heard it, and Juvia swore – and promptly pointed out – that Gajeel's eyes were as the Moon upon confirmation of the truth. He promised to keep the news a secret until Gray came home and she could tell him herself, something Juvia was very happy for.

"I'm sure you'll figure out something. In the meantime, I've already started to make up a new song. Still workin' out the lyrics, though," Gajeel remarked, "Sure I'll be fixin' it along the way."

"Juvia is sure to enjoy it," the blunette remarked, resting a hand on her stomach, "We both will."

Suddenly, the door to the guild hall opened up, and their attention turned towards it. Coming through was Natsu and Happy, followed by Gray and Erza. Juvia's face lit up upon seeing her husband, "Gray-sama's home!"

"Welcome home, everyone!" Mira exclaimed from her place behind the bar, "Did your mission go well?"

"It's complete, at least," Erza commented, "Not much thanks to these two bickering."

"Aye," Happy said in agreement.

"Hey, it's not MY fault that Flame Head got sick because he couldn't get himself off of that mobile," Gray remarked with a scarf.

"If you were better at aiming, I wouldn't have had to jump to dodge and land on it!" Natsu exclaimed angrily, "You're the one that also allowed the guy to get away because of it, Ice Breath!"

"YOU'RE the one that broke in and pretty much alerted them all to us being there!" Gray responded, stepping close to Natsu and getting in his face.

"Yeah, I did! Because YOU were the one that let yourself been seen and they were all about to get away!" Natsu yelled back, pushing Gray back and knocking him into Erza.

The redheaded mage growled and glared at the two men, smacking them both in the back of their heads and sending them flying into Elfman, entering from the other side of the guild hall, "KNOCK IT OFF, BOTH OF YOU!"

"Hey, what the hell are you two doing!?" Elfman exclaimed, punching both of them unaware that Erza was the one that knocked them into him, prompting Natsu to punch him back in return.

Suddenly the guild hall broke out into a large fight, the original topic of their mission now dropped and gone. Juvia sighed through a smile, "Things never change."

"They're all still insane," Gajeel commented, finishing the metal piece he had, "You best not get involved, Raindop."

Juvia nodded, going back to her meal with her eyes following her husband as he continued to fight with everyone, trying to hardest not to laugh at what was going on. Gajeel, on the other hand, was apprehensive. While he usually wouldn't care about the guild in-fighting, and likely would've joined in, he didn't want Juvia getting involved and risking harm to the baby. He considered Juvia the closest person he had to a best friend – something pointed out to him by Levy and Lily many times – and despite the fact that she could easily handle herself, he just wanted to make sure she and the child was safe. Even if it was protecting her from her own husband's stupid rage.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a chair being thrown in their direction and he quickly turned his arm into metal to deflect it, placing himself in front of Juvia enough to prevent her from getting hit from the debris. Juvia shut her eyes tightly in response, her fork dropping to the floor, opening them a moment later.

"Gajeel-kun, you alright!?" she exclaimed in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he remarked, shaking his arm out as it returned to normal, growling as he turned to look out at the rest of the guild with enraged eyes, "KNOCK IT THE HELL OFF BEFORE YOU HIT THE BABY!"

That outburst made the entire guild go silent, and suddenly Gajeel realized what he said. "Crap," he muttered, "I screwed that up."

"That you did," Juvia remarked with a bit of sarcasm.

"What baby?" Gray asked, glaring at Gajeel with a confused look, "What are you talking about?"

"Gray-sama," the blunette said, standing up and turning toward the ice mage with a soft smile, "Juvia's sorry that this was the way it happened, but... she's pregnant. We're going to have a baby. She found out a few days ago."

Gray was stunned silent; he was going to become a father? He walked over to his wife, his hand hesitantly outstretching to touch her stomach, his eyes lingering on it before looking up at her blue orbs. "You're pregnant...?" he repeated, feeling his heartbeat speeding up.

"Yes."

"I'm going to be a father?"

"Yes, Gray-sama. We're going to be parents."

He couldn't believe his ears; the last thing he ever thought he'd be would be a father. Granted, in the past, he didn't think he'd ever want to become one. However, after falling in love with Juvia, he had thought many times about the idea of having a child with her. They had even discussed it once or twice since they had gotten married, but the fact that it was happening now had him excited and scared all at the same time. Still, as he looked at Juvia's smiling face, he couldn't help but let the happiness consume him.

She sighed, the smile still lingering on her lips, "Juvia knows it might be hard to believe. She thought so too, but it's true. We're-"

She didn't get the chance to say anything more, her voice cut off by Gray's lips on her own and his arms wrapping tightly around her. Pulling back, Gray's smile was ear-to-ear, his eyes brimming with tears, picking up Juvia into his arms. "I'm going to be a dad! I can't believe it, I'm going to be a dad!" he exclaimed, spinning Juvia around, making her laugh as she wrapped her arms around Gray's neck.

The guild broke out in loud applause and congratulatory shouts, the couple being patted and hugged as they celebrated. Juvia laughed as she pulled herself a bit closer to her beloved, smiling brightly as tears of happiness fell down her cheeks. Gray looked down at her, returning the same smile as he kissed her again.

"Thank you, Juvia."

"For what?"

"For giving me such an amazing gift."

"Juvia should be thanking you for that, Gray-sama."


End file.
